After seven decades as a constituent republic of USSR, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. It has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than any of other former Soviet republics. Belarus and Russia signed a treaty on a two-state union on 8 December 1999 envisioning greater political and economic integration. Although Belarus agreed to a framework to carry out accord, serious implementation has yet to take place.

landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes; country is geologically well endowed with extensive deposits of granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, and clay

6 voblastsi (singular - voblasts') and one municipality* (harady, singular - horad); Brestskaya (Brest), Homyel'skaya (Homyel'), Horad Minsk*, Hrodzyenskaya (Hrodna), Mahilyowskaya (Mahilyow), Minskaya, Vitsyebskaya (Vitsyebsk); note - when using a place name with adjectival ending 'skaya,' word voblasts' should be added to place name
note: voblasti have administrative center name following in parentheses

30 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996 giving presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective 27 November 1996

Legal system:

based on civil law system

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Sergei SIDORSKY (acting; since 10 July 2003); Deputy Prime Ministers Andrei KOBYAKOV (since 13 March 2000), Sergei SIDORSKY (since 24 September 2001), Vladimir DRAZHIN (since 24 September 2001), Roman VNUCHKO (since 10 July 2003)
cabinet: Council of Ministers
election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO reelected president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 75.6%, Vladimir GONCHARIK 15.4%
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; first election took place 23 June and 10 July 1994; according to 1994 constitution, next election should have been held in 1999, however LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via a November 1996 referendum; new election held 9 September 2001 (next election to be held by September 2006); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by president

Legislative branch:

bicameral Parliament or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of Council of Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats; 56 members elected by regional councils and 8 members appointed by president, all for 4-year terms) and Chamber of Representatives or Palata Pretsaviteley (110 seats; members elected by universal adult suffrage to serve 4-year terms)
election results: party affiliation data unavailable; under present political conditions party designations are meaningless
elections: last held October 2000 (next to be held NA 2004)

Judicial branch:

Supreme Court (judges are appointed by president); Constitutional Court (half of judges appointed by president and half appointed by Chamber of Representatives)

red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half width of red band; a white vertical stripe on hoist side bears a Belarusian national ornament in red

Economy

Belarus

Economy - overview:

Belarus has seen little structural reform since 1995, when President LUKASHENKO launched country on path of "market socialism." In keeping with this policy, LUKASHENKO reimposed administrative controls over prices and currency exchange rates and expanded state's right to intervene in management of private enterprise. In addition to burdens imposed by high inflation and persistent trade deficits, businesses have been subject to pressure on part of central and local governments, e.g., arbitrary changes in regulations, numerous rigorous inspections, retroactive application of new business regulations, and arrests of "disruptive" businessmen and factory owners. A wide range of redistributive policies has helped those at bottom of ladder. Close relations with Russia, possibly leading to reunion, color pattern of economic developments. For time being, Belarus remains self-isolated from West and its open-market economies.

general assessment: Ministry of Telecommunications controls all telecommunications through its carrier (a joint stock company) Beltelcom which is a monopoly
domestic: local - Minsk has a digital metropolitan network and a cellular NMT-450 network; waiting lists for telephones are long; local service outside Minsk is neglected and poor; intercity - Belarus has a partly developed fiber-optic backbone system presently serving at least 13 major cities (1998); Belarus's fiber optics form synchronous digital hierarchy rings through other countries' systems; an inadequate analog system remains operational
international: Belarus is a member of Trans-European Line (TEL), Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line, and has access to Trans-Siberia Line (TSL); three fiber-optic segments provide connectivity to Latvia, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine; worldwide service is available to Belarus through this infrastructure; additional analog lines to Russia; Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik earth stations

limited cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis, mostly for domestic market; transshipment point for illicit drugs to and via Russia, and to Baltics and Western Europe; lax money-laundering and banking regulations